Endless Summer 2019 - Cloti Flavour
by sanctum-c
Summary: Prompt fills for the Endless Summer week on Tumblr
1. Forging a Path

Time raced by in a rush, every passing second another delay, another chance of the inevitable. The fall of Sector Seven. Would they make it in time? Could they try to get people out of the sector or should they instead seek to stop Shinra? How long would a delay buy them? Ahead, Aeris scrambled up and out of the sewers, Cloud on her heels. Tifa followed them both and took a grateful breath of – if not fresh air – at least something preferable to the sewers.

"Where are we?" Cloud stared around. Rusted hulks of old trains lay nearby, some stacked three high, others fallen on their sides.

"Train graveyard." Closer than she dared hope. "In Sector Seven."

Her words leant both her companions a sense of urgency. Aeris glanced up to the plate with nervous eyes. "We better hurry."

No arguments there. The central hub of Midgar made orientation easy. Now to navigate this maze of trains. In her past, Tifa explored Sector Seven and beyond wherever possible – including venturing into this scrapheap. But so long since, the nature of the area ever changing as rust collapsed the abandoned vehicles and more stacked on top. "This way."

They moved as fast as they could over uneven ground, littered with scrap metal, broken glass and best not dwelled on organic matter. Some of the younger slum-dwellers of Sector Seven liked to insist the graveyard harboured ghosts. More likely some form of monster population was in here. Tifa kept to the avenues between the trains, ducking under precarious chassis' and leaping abandoned seating. Keep on pressing towards the hub, despite the route forcing them to double-back at points, forcing them away from the centre to find another path leading them ahead.

Until they ran out of options. Somehow the plate was still suspended. Tifa did not dare glance at her watch. But there was no route forward any more. Other obstacles had circumvented by ducking into the broken open trains, but the doors on the high stacks of trains ahead remained jammed shut and none of them were eager to try forcing them; the stability of the stack ever much a concern.

"I could try climbing?" Tifa blinked at Aeris who offered her a reassuring smile. She pointed. "See, if I can get up there-" A gap in the wall of trains where a succession of cables lay coiled. "-I can drop those down to you."

"Good plan. But I think I-"

Aeris touched her arm. "I'm lighter." And she was; slighter, far less muscle-mass. Tifa stepped back beside Cloud; ahead Aeris grabbed hand-helds and hauled, her long skirt flaring out behind her as she climbed. She made good progress – and Tifa could almost believe she did this regularly – until her foot knocked against a door. "Ow."

"You okay?" Tifa called up.

"Fine!" The panel teetered and fell forward with a clang. It slipped from the roof of the train it balanced on to catch on the next train down with a screech of metal. The door tumbled and smacked into the ground with a crash of broken glass. "You okay?"

"Fine!" Cloud shouted back.

Tifa frowned. "Uh-oh."

The stack of trains trembled, metal creaking and groaning as unintended balances shifted, the trains shifting. A long precarious groan sounded and one train – not the one Aeris currently clung to – slid off the stack and crashed into the area beyond. A train beyond the current wall slumped sideways, knocking onto something unseen beyond. A distant crane fell towards them, smashing against the roof of a train not far from Cloud.

The train shifted away from Tifa, upsetting Aeris's balance ahead. She grabbed for the train beside her; she let go looking panicked as the train slid away from her and fell back. Another crane wobbled from the impact and slowly toppled. Some other distant crash sounded and the crane jolted forward. Right towards them. No time to think; Tifa grabbed Cloud's waist and with a pivot moved him out of danger, the pointed end of the crane punching a deep groove into the concrete.

The sounds of falling debris and shifting trains subsided. Tifa still held Cloud's waist, the closest they'd been since their reuniting in Midgar. He flushed; Tifa's own face warming. "Well. That just happened." Tifa sprang away from Cloud; Aeris miraculously remained perched on top of the train. Beside her, the results of the near disaster had opened up a new route. They might still make it.


	2. Night-time Stroll

Avalanche had found some tile-based mansion exploring game; Aeris read out cards in a silly voice Yuffie found hilarious. The break at Costa del Sol had gone on for most of the day. Day-time pleasantries under the sun and in the sea had given way to cocktails and other alcoholic drinks. Fun, but the air felt uncomfortably warm in the inn. Tifa bore it, fidgeting for a time until- "I'm going to get some air." She stood and pushed her pile of tokens and cards to Barret.

Aeris and Yuffie were briefly dismayed, but soon Barret's terrible dice-role took focus, the results of which lead to rummaging in the box for new tokens and some careful study of the provided rulebooks. She hurried the door, almost colliding with Cloud on the way in. "Sorry." He'd caught the sun earlier but at her insistence had applied some after-sun.

"Is fine." Tifa shook her head. "I was just getting some air."

"Oh." He glanced past her. "Mind if I tag along?"

Definitely not unwelcome. "Not at all." The air was warm enough, but bordered now on a little too cool for comfort. Not long until it was cold – at dramatic odds with the day-time temperature. Tifa wandered away from the inn, down towards the shore. No one the beach at this hour; a few abandoned umbrellas and the odd beach-ball the only things left. They walked in silence, the lack of dialogue uncomfortable. What to talk about? Their day on the beach? The horrors of the cargo ship? Or before; the dangers of travelling across Shinra's fortress city?

The topics felt absurd here, under the clear skies, the ocean lapping at the shoreline. So far from overt Shinra presence. So far from Midgar and Junon. Somewhere where you could forget what Mako processing was doing, a place with no Mako-taint in the air. Discussing Shinra felt at odds with here and now. The other topic bubbled up from the depths she forced it back to every time. And worse now. Not a question of what he had said seven instead of five. Now a question of memory – but whose. His or hers?

Her memory did not contain Cloud five years prior, while his contained her. She remembered some of the actions clearly, but the figure who made them was not Cloud. But stranger still, the memory of the other figure, another SOLDIER – not Sephiroth, instead someone barely known by anyone – whose actions were clear, but which Cloud barely alluded to if at all.

There was no one else around; she could ask him outright. Point out the contradictions and the discrepancies. But to what end? What if he came back adamant and insistent with some evidence to prove his points? How much had damage had Sephiroth's strike done to her? Tifa's fingers went to the scar and she forced her hand to her side. No. She could not have this conversation yet. Perhaps not ever. "I'm glad we stopped here."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. It was a good plan." He scratched at his head. "I think I always wanted to come here."

Already dangerous, bordering on those discussions of before, time passing between here and Nibelheim. Tifa hummed an acknowledgement. "I never saw the sea before Junon. But this is so much better."

"Priscilla should live here." Cloud smiled. "Her and Mr. Dolphin. I think they'd be happier."

No protests there. Poor girl, swimming in those waters. Remarkable Mr. Dolphin was as well as he was. "Expensive to live here sadly. Unless she can do a double-act with him."

Cloud winced. "If she's willing to. Not sure I want to again-" He glanced behind him. "Nothing high here for her to jump up to."

"If she came here, they could build something."

"That's true." Cloud walked backwards. "I'd definitely come to see that."

Tifa grinned. "Me too. Any chance of another day? I'd like to go swimming at least once more."

"Another-" He frowned. He pivoted around, now walking forwards. But his attention was not head on; something interested him to his right, towards the centre of the Western continent. He tensed, and blinked hard. "One more day." A forceful nod. "Yeah. We can stay another day."

"Thank you." And perhaps this time she could coax him into the water with her. Ahead a chain-link fence cut across the beach, stretching from under the tide to somewhere off in the darkness. The limit of the resort, the almost flimsy-seeming line of defence preventing any monsters wandering too close to the holiday makers. "Guess this is where we turn back."

"Guess so."

A shame. Perhaps they could walk past the inn to the other extreme? Tifa shivered in the cool air. Maybe not; something for tomorrow – when she remembered to bring a jacket. And maybe Cloud would keep her company again.


	3. The Shoddy Facsimile of Home

Returning to the Tiny Bronco was a much more sedate experience than leaving it. No ninja with every piece of materia on her person fleeing headlong for Wutai for example. Yuffie seemed a little more sombre on the return trip; whether guilt over the theft, repeated subterfuges or the fight against her father, Tifa could not guess. She chattered away, walking in between Aeris and Vincent.

Cid was out in front, setting a tough pace. Uncomfortable since leaving his damaged plane on the beach when they washed ashore, forever convinced the tide would have washed the craft back out and leaving them stranded – or forcing them to trail back to the capital city and hope they real did have enough of an in with the royal family to get them something for the mean-time. Fortunately the Tiny Bronco remained where it landed, above the tide-line and for now safe. Cid let out an excited whoop and ran down to the vehicle.

By the time Tifa and the rest of Avalanche reached him, various hatches lay open, both engines partially disassembled and Cid was smoking. Immediate instinct was to remind him of the risks of fire near fuel-sources. But Cid had survived this long – somehow – and Tifa let the issue slide. "How long until you get her fixed?"

"'Fixed'?" Cid shot Cloud a surprised look. "Bronco'll never fly again."

A plummeting sensation in Tifa's stomach. Were they trapped? "Never?"

Cid shook his head. "Not without completely rebuilding."

Somewhere behind her, Aeris was murmuring something along the lines of this situation never occurring if they had stolen the plane when she originally suggested it. Yuffie seemed eager to learn some of the details regarding hotwiring and Aeris's shady past came up again when she offered to teach her- "But-" Cloud tried.

"She'll float though." Cid knocked a fist against the fuselage. "And I can get the engines to push us at least. Should get us back to the other coast if nothing else."

Relief. "Will that take long?"

"Assuming-" He fixed Yuffie with a stare. "-no interference, I reckon we can head off in about three hours." He glanced around at the group. "Find some way to amuse yourselves." He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and diverted all his attention to the engine interior.

Aeris found a sunny spot on the beach and spread out, speculating idly about if there was enough time to get changed to REALLY enjoy the sun. Yuffie busied her hands with a small pile of materia – Barret took the opportunity to double-check his own. Vincent brooded beneath the shadow of the nearby cliffs. Cait Sith – as was typical in similar situations – went into a slightly frustrating loop. Jaunty music, offered fortunes and dancing until Cid ordered the robot a good distant away or he would reprogram him with his spear.

Nanaki raced along the coastline in the same direction, easily outpacing Cait Sith. Leaving Cloud and Tifa. His hands kept clenching, eyes focused on Cid's actions. Did Cloud want to help? Shame Cid had made clear he wanted no input from the rest of them. Perhaps best to get him away; head the other way up the beach. First chance they'd had to talk alone since before Nibelheim.

"Cloud? Want to keep me company?" Her voice shook him out of his reverie.

"Sure."

She headed away from the craft with a glance at her watch to note the time, Cloud keeping pace. The sounds of Avalanche faded behind them – Barret accusing Yuffie of another heist, Cid shouting for quiet – lost beneath the wash of the tide on the sand and distance. "Going home. Was hard."

"Yeah." Cloud swallowed. "I couldn't believe it." Nor could some of their companions who questioned some of the less troublesome details of Cloud's account of five years ago. True; perhaps something could quench the inferno, but the town had seemed lost as Tifa ran after her father.

The strange inhabitants of their homes had put paid to doubts the fire had happened. Unfamiliar faces in every house and every shop. Denial of any friends of neighbours. Maddeningly trivial differences between memory and reality. The shoddy facsimile of home.

Hard going back. The atmosphere wrong, the black-cloaked figures seemingly harmless but unnerving. And in the depths of the town; him. They had already encountered him once, but every meeting with Sephiroth was a fresh reminder of the pain. Fortunately spared a revisit to her trauma of those years ago; the Mount Nibel Mako reactor sealed tight. "I wonder if I'm cursed. Not like Vincent, just-" Cloud frowned.

"Cursed?"

A mirthless smile from him. "Both times I've gone home, it's not ended well. Both times Sephiroth was there." He shivered. "At least there was no fire."

"You're not cursed." Tifa sought a certainty she did not feel. Some dim memory there. Of going to the mountain, into the forbidden. Of course, she had done often as an adult to no ill-effect. But- A vague hint, a sense of punishment; Mount Nibel itself had tried to destroy her once. Something feeding back into the promise. "A shame the well wasn't there any more."

"Yeah." Cloud stared up to the sky. "Looked different to the one we met at that night."

Unprompted and without a lead-in. That Cloud Strife was once her neighbour was never in question. She had not known him much but he used to be different she could certain. The man beside her was the one who promised to save her seven years ago. There remained the question of how he could know anything of Sephiroth's previous visit, but she could take solace in his memory of home as it once was; not the bad facsimile it had become.


	4. Holiday

They were alive. The Planet was still alive. Shinra still existing in some form, but a shadow of its former self. Avalanche had won. Tifa clung to the thought. Almost everything they fought for accomplished. It was only now after the short-comings of such an abrupt change were clear. She would have never wanted to delay Shinra's defeat or the halting of Mako extraction, but now the world had no choice, the short-comings were starkly clear.

There WERE efforts, other cleaner technology potentially capable of sustaining human life nearing the level necessary. They still had electricity for now, but it came at such costs to people and the Planet the older methods could not continue for long.

Aeris's wish lead to the ideal world. Did not mean life was not still a struggle.

Better now than in the first two years where the displaced population of Midgar needed somewhere to live, when Edge had built up from the wasteland. When the first shelters were painstakingly assembled by hand. Tifa, Cloud, Barret and Marlene's took long as each made the effort to help those around them struggling in the aftermath of Meteor's destruction. Nights were freezing, food scarce and people quick to irritate. So many adapted poorly from comfortable Upper Plate lives to existing in a wilderness – however fast something not unlike their old lives was rebuilt. The slum dwellers did not fare much better; too used to the Upper Plates offering at least a block to the rain and sun.

But now things were, not so much better, but more comfortable. They had a home, a business. Cloud conquered his illness and returned to his family. Barret gave up a chase of fossil fuels and came home too. The Seventh Heaven family. But as much as they remained together, as much as the maintained contact with Avalanche and acquaintances along the way, some days it was hard.

Ahead was a steady progression of days much like today and yesterday. Get up while the sky was still dark and prep the bar. Start cooking the ingredients they could freeze or needed extra preparation. Say goodbye to Cloud before he went on deliveries. Wake up Denzel and Marlene. Wave goodbye to Barret as he headed for the WRO for the day. Open the bar. Serve drinks until 11 and after serve food as well.

A break until four; five more hours of food after and time to wind down. Say goodnight to Marlene and Denzel; Barret helping both to bed. Doing inventory. Cooking the odd meal if a familiar face arrived (Vincent rarely, Yuffie semi-regularly; the Turks whether she wanted them or not). Doors closed, clean-up could commence. If Cloud was home or would arrive home he could at least split their duties to save time. Everything done, Tifa could retreat to the bedroom.

If Cloud was home, they could at least catch-up and snuggle. If he was elsewhere, she would read until her eyes grew too heavy. Sleep for as long as she could before getting up to repeat. Try as she might, there was little else ahead but more of the same. Keep the bar running. Help keep a roof over the head of the kids. Cook. Serve drinks. The biggest variance in her life was if Cloud was here.

Was this it? Was this all she now had after working to save the world? Tifa did not crave fame or adulation for her part – however minor it felt at times contrasted with what could only be Aeris's marshalling of the Planet's natural forces to save them all. But- Frustration. What did she want?

Something else. Something like those few days in Costa del Sol where Avalanche rested. Like either of their visits to the Gold Saucer. And, as uncomfortable as the reasons like her time in Mideel caring for Cloud. To have an opportunity to slow, to stop, to not rush from one necessity to another. To take time and space. To perhaps do nothing and simply let life pass by.

Tifa grimaced. Perhaps the last one was too much. Uncomfortable to let time slip away. But the first part sounded so good. Plausible? A few options existed after some investigating. Shutting the bar would be detrimental to the family's finances – to a point. She could keep the bar closed for two days currently and not mess up all their careful finances. Perhaps one day to be on the safe side.

One day. It did not seem like much, but it was something. And something she would seek to repeat going forward. Ensure each time their finances could bear the cost and close up everything. A solitary day did not leave much scope for destinations; no Costa del Sol and no Gold Saucer. But it would break up the future, allow differences and a break from the anticipated norm.

And Cloud would need to take a break too. A day off together would be perfect.


	5. Increasing Expense

Marlene frowned as she and Tifa left the market stall. "They were more expensive again weren't they?"

Tifa shifted the bundle of fresh fruit and vegetables in her arms. "Unfortunately."

"What if they get too much?"

"We'll figure something out." She smiled at Marlene, the answer acceptable. Unfortunately the question was not so settled. Fresh produce fluctuated in prices as the Planet left the Mako age and moved into a new era. No term to encompass it yet – other than in relation to the events and practices no longer current. Post-Midgar. Post-Mako. Post-Meteor. Post-Shinra (more or less anyway). Post-Sephiroth. To Avalanche and a few significant people; post-Aeris. Fresh vegetables commanded a premium in the fall of Midgar and the rise of Edge. Crops from the Upper Plate and in storage sold at absurd mark-ups to those desperate enough to buy.

The world shifted and new supply-lines were established, linking the fledgling city with farms able to provide more food. The WRO helped as much as it could, but the fall of Shinra left something of a vacuum – and Reeve was reluctant to so utterly dominate in the way Shinra once had. Those with money sought out ways to accrue more. Exclusive contracts restricted access and raised prices. The Seventh Heaven was profitable enough to cope with the shifts, but for how much longer?

Three years after, prices rose. Assuming no sudden jumps they would be fine. But despite her earlier assurance, Marlene became concerned for later, asking for fewer vegetables with her dinner. "To save some money."

Tifa exchanged a glance with Cloud. Their home finances was an area they tried to ensure did not affect the kids much. Impossible to absolutely avoid it, and there was much Marlene and Denzel did not pick up on, but every now and again, there came a pointed, awkward question. Tifa explained what prompted the comment to Cloud once the others were in bed. "I can buy some fresh stuff when I'm on the road."

"I considered that. Unfortunately deliveries aren't regular enough." So much easier if Cloud could restrict his enterprise to the environs surrounding Edge and Healin. Reality was less forgiving. "I had a different idea, but I'm not sure how well it would work."

"Oh?"

"A garden out back. We can plant our own vegetables and grow them. Now, I know it won't be immediate or anything, we'll need to keep buying overpriced stuff for a while, but-"

"It's a good idea, but-"

"I know." Tifa rushed to explain everything. "I know the land's not really good for anything. But it must be better now? The rain, the rain should have helped. Right?" The eradication of Geostigma brought with it changes to Edge. Dusty, barren streets now showed signs of greenery, weeds clinging to life in cracks. The region around Midgar gained a new life.

"It has." Cloud was certain. He had always been a little cagey on what he experienced before he floated up in the water pool in Aeris's church, but on certain matters involving an interference from out of the Lifestream he was absolutely sure. "I think we could easily grow whatever we wanted." Tifa said nothing, a caveat clear ahead of him speaking further. "But I'd be worried about the soil."

"The soil?"

He nodded. "Shinra's been abusing this land for decades. Who knows how much waste and poison has leeched into the ground." He grimaced. "Not what we want to be serving up to people."

"Then-" If the soil was bad here, how about further afield? Where plants grew already. Where their food originated from. "-we don't have to grow it out the ground. Get some containers, fill them with soil and use that?" There had to be some way-

"Exactly what I was thinking." Cloud smiled. "How soon did you want to start? I can try and bring something suitable back on my next delivery."

She smiled back at him. "The containers I can get here. If you can find some seeds and soil… We're okay for now, but the sooner we can start growing the better."

"My only concern is Marlene and Denzel," Cloud said.

"Oh, they'll be fine. And careful."

"You are taking their play area away." He chuckled.

"Point. But they've never used it." Tifa folded her arms. "So they'll just have to cope."


	6. Prepared for Worst Case Scenarios

The changes of the season made little different to Tifa's choice of wardrobe. Nibelheim was cool all year, sometimes raising to warm in the hottest summers, but otherwise experienced a distinct risk of hypothermia during the night-time for the unwary. Even getting past the climate, Tifa did not have the luxury of others in town who could afford to wear short-sleeves and thin garments. Providing and tracking safe routes across the twisted mountain peak required her ever prepared for changes in the weather.

Some might argue such precautions were unnecessary; Tifa had trekked along the mountain trails for a full seven years. Familiarity bred risks, and Tifa remained always a little fearful of the mountain. The fall when she was younger had left her comatose for a week. If Cloud had not been with her- It did not bear thinking about. Left alone, lost in the labyrinth of the peak's lower reaches- Not a risk she ever wanted again. But there was more to it, always a hint of Mount Nibel never remaining static. Not something as blunt or obvious as a sink-hole or the reactor pulling sufficient Mako from the ground it fell inwards.

No. It was something else. A weird sense of disorientation at times. It came and went so fleetingly and occurred in so varied locations, Tifa could never be certain it happened. But when the sense struck her- In those moments - thankfully only ever a handful of seconds - she lost everything. Sight wavering, the path reversed or gone or running at an impossible angle. The wind, monster sounds or the hum of the reactor replaced by something almost like singing. But the singer – if they existed – was not human, nor were the words distinguishable. The voice was the worst part of those moments. Seemingly offering something but never clear what.

While these moments had only ever occurred a handful of times – and thankfully only when Tifa crossed the mountain alone – the risk remained they might not be so brief. The doctor had checked her over repeatedly and insisted nothing was wrong – or at least nothing he could find. For anything more in-depth she would need to make the trip to somewhere more advanced. More effort than it was worth. And it was not as if the moments increased in number or anything more worrying. They simply happened at irregular intervals.

To this end, Tifa ensured she was always prepared for the worst case scenarios, including at the height of summer. Mount Nibel itself helped justify her choices thanks to its off-season, perpetual coldness. Water-proof clothes, emergency food, pop-up tent, radio. Not many qualified in the town to come and help if it came to it. But, though he was not qualified per se, Cloud was familiar enough with Mount Nibel to come if she ever needed him.

Together they spent most of their teenage years exploring the various trails and finding the routes down to the great plains beyond. Near every other boy Tifa had grown up with was lured away by promises of fame, fortune and glory; the Shinra company offered all three in one way or another. From the letters Tifa received back, gaining any of those goals was hard going and her friends were in hopefully temporary jobs they could use to claw their way up. So many years had passed and little progress made in this regard.

Cloud had no notion of venturing into the same line of work as Tifa; instead he became apprenticed to the town's lumberjack and spent the days logging – often far closer to the town than Tifa. He confessed – eventually – he had crushed on her most his life. The major reason why he trailed after her up Mount Nibel all those years ago. And why he kept on going when all her friends grew fearful and why she confessed to him alone her strange experiences alone on the mountain.

At first their relationship grew out of necessity and proximity. The last children of Nibelheim it felt at times; such a huge gap between the adults and them and the new-borns. The stigma surrounding Cloud and his Mom shifted after the mountain too; when he painstakingly dragged Tifa home and when she confirmed how he had saved her. Time together became expected. Near every moment of every day, meals, commiserations and successes. A natural progression from friends to lovers and ultimately to spouses.

Tifa could cope fine with Mount Nibel. She was sure-footed and intensely knowledgeable with regard to the terrain. But if worst came to worst; if she should ever fall badly, should the mountain truly ensnare her and those moments of confusion become longer, she knew – absolutely knew - Cloud would not rest until he found her once more.


	7. Floodland

Weather in Edge took time to stabilise. The Planet was bouncing back, the vampiric leeching of Mako from within halted. But could it recover fast enough? Had too much expended both in Mako power generation and with the rallying of the Planet's own power to eradicate Meteor? No one was certain. In the immediate aftermath, the desert region surrounding Midgar – and the new city of Edge – remained dry.

The situation helped as new structures and housing was constructed as fast as possible. As long as there were tents and light sleepers, leaving half-constructed buildings open to the sky were not an issue. Cold, but an excuse for more blankets and huddling closer. Over time the grey permeated the land around Midgar began to disperse, the weather itself changing.

The first rains were light and only of mild concerns. Edge's sewer systems existed as piece-meal kludged messes, dug down below the desert sands wherever possible. Draining was pour and a few points in the city quickly caught out. The Seventh Heaven perched high enough above the road the flooding did not impair the bar too much. No basement to flood; a few days of wading through deeper than normal puddles. Denzel and Marlene both disappointed they couldn't get an inflatable raft and navigate the roads using it.

Two months after and what would become the rainy season in Edge began. What started as a light shower became so much worse. Response to the minor flooding before had lead to more preparations within the city, but accurate weather predictions were once again something the Planet struggled with in the aftermath of the Mako era. Weather satellites hung in orbit, waiting for anyone or anything from the world below to call up to them – and every method to do locked behind outdated tech requiring a lot of power to run.

The rains caught them all by surprise. The light rain persisted for a day, the puddles outside growing deeper. It shifted during the evening into a down-pour. A bad night for business, customers both regular and new leaving earlier to beat the atrocious weather for the safety of home. It let Tifa get to bed a little earlier than possible but-

Someone was shaking her arm. "Tifa."

Cloud was holding a storm lantern. The room was dark, rain still drumming on the roof. "Cloud?" She sat up rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"The bar's flooding."

"What?" Tifa struggled out of bed and hastily pulled on her shorts. "How?"

"The rain. I was going to head out on my deliveries but-"

Her watch indicated it was a little after five in the morning. "How bad?"

"Salvageable. I think." He strode ahead of her and down the stairs. "The power's out."

Tifa's hand stopped before pressing the light. A layer of water covered the floor of the Seventh Heaven, water forcing its way under the front door. And who knew what was in the flood. "Start with the furniture."

Cloud left the lantern on the counter as Tifa splashed into the back room. The water had not made it back here yet, but it would not be long. How was the land around them? Was the area around the back of the bar above or under the same level as the front? Would they eventually end up with water coming from both directions? Something to worry about later. She grabbed the baskets of unironed clothes and hurried them upstairs. Food. They would need food up there; where else would they go? Assuming the foundations held. Non-perishable goods into a box to ferry up.

"Tifa?" Marlene rubbed at her face when Tifa made it back upstairs and dropped the box in Cloud's study.

"Hey. Go back to sleep."

Marlene shook her head. "What's happening?"

She would learn soon enough, or at least unlikely to take a lie about why she could not go downstairs. "Flooding." How long until Denzel woke up? "If I bring stuff up the stairs can you stack it in the office?" She nodded, more awake now. "Thanks. Cloud's bringing other stuff up." Wet footprints on her way back down; the stairs were going to get perilous at this rate.

The water was ankle deep when she made it down. Finish up on supplies for the family, and onto the bar's inventory. Cloud hauled another stack of chairs up; Tifa carefully took down Marlene and Denzel's drawings. The water shouldn't get so high – shouldn't – but why risk it?

Night gave way to a grey dawn and a lessening of the rainfall. In the bar below, the water had risen almost to the level of the bar and filled with detritus. But Tifa was okay. Damp, cold and tired, but okay. As was Cloud, Denzel and Marlene. They clustered in Cloud's office, watching from the windows as – to the kids delight despite the unpleasant situation – people were starting to use boats to go from house to house and check on people.


End file.
